AT&T Brings 3,000 Support Jobs Back To U.S. > Blame the system...

Blame the system...

Wrong answer. The real problem is that few people with enough education to handle tech support are willing to work for $8.00/hr.

If AT&T wants quality employees, they have to be willing to pay for them.

reply to Dogfather

reply to ISurfTooMuch
The answer lies in-between. The educational system needs to be overhauled to allow for more real world OS and Application training, and keep up with what Corporate America is looking for like familiarity with basic windows/msoffice/outlook, basic troubleshooting skills, basic network and pc skills. At the same time, AT&T needs to understand, that helpdesk technicians need more support like empowering them with ability to tap accounting/provision while the customer is on the line, so whatever issue he has (billing/technical) it can be solved right away. Also allow the tech to do this unscripted and without pressure of meeting some person's metrics. Quality support should not have useless metrics (time spent on call/etc) other than satisfaction survey given to customers at the end of the support call.

reply to ISurfTooMuch

reply to inbeetweeeen

reply to Titus Pullo
The real problem isn't the teachers. The real problem is the parents. It doesn't matter what a teacher does, if the parents have no interest in their child's education, neither will the child. Unfortunately, we live in a society that no longer values education. What chance does a teacher have against that?

reply to Titus Pullo
Indeed. I know several teachers, and if anyone thinks they have it easy, then they must not know anyone in that profession. There are some school districts where money is so tight, teachers have to pay out of their own pockets for classroom materials. My sister-in-law is a teacher, and it isn't uncommon for her to work 12-hour days. A good friend of mine also teaches, and she told me about one of her first jobs, where she taught elementary school to a class made up primarily of children born to drug addicts. It was bad enough that these kids had almost every kind of learning disability under the sun, but she got zero support from the parents, who were often more messed up than the kids.

So I'd love to see one of these cushy teaching jobs. I bet I could find a few folks who'd love to apply for such a position.

reply to fatmanskinny
When I worked in ISP support, we didn't live and die by the numbers, but they were there, and I knew techs who loved to get their names at the top of the list each day. Yes, some were good enough and fast enough to really earn those numbers, but others did it by offering "fixes" that they knew good and well wouldn't work just to be able to get the customer off the phone so they could close the ticket. I knew this because I'd be getting that customer the next day and fixing the problem the other tech knew damn well how to fix but didn't because it would take too much time and lower their numbers.

reply to Titus Pullo
Unfortunately, the two parties in the US have pretty well trained everyone to react that way. People who have the ability to think for themselves and not just blindly accept what someone with an (R) or (D) behind their names tells them to accept are a rare breed.

reply to ISurfTooMuch

reply to Titus Pullo
You obviously haven't seen the CTA in action out here on the left coast.

reply to Cod
If that's the case, then they could open a call center in Alabama and get it staffed almost immediately. Cost of living here is low, so a $30k salary would be fine for many young people just getting out of college.

But my guess is that AT&T wouldn't want to pay that much; otherwise, they wouldn't have outsourced those jobs in the first place. I've seen plenty of other companies offering much less for CSR's, so my guess is that AT&T is having trouble filling positions because they want to lowball salaries and/or hire workers from temp agencies with no benefits.

reply to ISurfTooMuch

reply to Dogfather
Obviously, you've never been a teacher. Teachers have to deal with students who don't do the work required of them, parents who obviously shouldn't have children and a school system that doesn't side with them. So, before you open your mouth, be a teacher.

reply to puck0114
additionally if one is of the "question everything while still doing what is required" mindset they will likely be fired in short order.

Indepence is now treated as a negative in the typical AmeriCorp. Either march in lock-step or work for $8/hr or off the grid.

And I am not talking about not doing the job correctly but rather today in these corps, as well as the US in general, anyone who dares question what is going on is treated as a malcontent. In a coportation today, that person has zero chance to advance. In the general population they are attacked for daring to speak out at all. Rational dialog is no longer even attempted by the PTB (powers that be) as they have so many "laws" on their side an employee can be dismissed for mere speculation or something in their personal life.
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reply to fatmanskinny
The most amusing part is that..well...they did that. They cut all management raises for the year, and Stephenson rejected his own compensation as well. Now, I'm not claiming the company I work for is a saint..I have to talk to these people on a daily basis....but I just found your comment amusing.

reply to Okie2
Oh please, I don't have to join the CTA to see that they are a huge part of the problem in California just as I didn't have to be on the 1st OJ jury to see that they were idiots or a member of Congress to see that they're corrupt and inept.